We hate writing about these stories, but unfortunately, racism seems to keep popping up at high school basketball games across the country.
The latest incident took place at a boy’s basketball game in Wisconsin between Muskego High School and Beloit Memorial High School in Muskego, WI last Friday night.
According to Kendall Keys of WISN 12 News, when Beloit players entered the locker room, they found swastikas, the N-word and the word “monkey” written in the dust on the lockers.
Tanya Karl, whose son plays for Beloit, called it exactly what it is. Racism.
“It was obvious racism,” said Karl in an interview with WISN 12. “It was obvious that they were trying to intimidate our boys by making them feel smaller. It was appalling that my kid in the locker room — the stuff that was written there, the words they were saying, the chanting they were doing, the monkey sounds they were making.”
But the behavior went beyond the locker room. Some boys from Muskego could be seen standing on the floor in the gym wearing ski masks and Black tank tops in, according to Karl, another attempted display of intimidation and racism.
“This is 2023. They were chanting the N-word and ‘monkey,’ and they were making monkey noises,” she said.
Muskego High School released a statement in response to the incident.
“On Friday night, Muskego High School hosted a competition against Beloit Memorial High School. Following the game’s conclusion, MHS administration received an email from the Athletic Director of Beloit Memorial indicating concerns regarding the theme of the student section and racist images traced in the dust on top of the gymnasium lockers. We were deeply disappointed and saddened by the information shared. Student safety is our number one priority and we work to ensure students have a positive and rewarding experience while competing in a safe environment. We take allegations of this nature very seriously and immediately began the investigation with the support of the Muskego Police Department. The active investigation continues and includes working with the Beloit administrators, interviewing students, reviewing the recorded event and assessing the school environment. Consequences for inappropriate actions will be prompt. We sincerely apologize for all behaviors that occurred that evening which do not represent the values of Muskego High School or the Muskego-Norway community. Furthermore, we are wholeheartedly dedicated to improving processes that will ensure our commitment of providing an environment that meets the expectations of our community and demonstrates respect for others.”
Todd Marks, head basketball coach of Beloit’s boy’s team, was justifiably upset and angry with what he saw and heard during the game.
“It just felt like it was all orchestrated. I think that’s what’s so troubling,” said Marks. “It wasn’t one isolated incident. It was a combination of things that seemed to accumulate to show that many of these events seemed to be planned. And to see our kids have to deal with that, like I said, it’s very heartbreaking.”
Unfortunately, like coach Marks stated, this isn’t an isolated event as we’ve seen a rash of racist incidents at high school games across the country from Washington and California to New York
Authorities are now investigating the incident. We will keep you updated on the situation.
